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- Gonpejota
- New Member
Offline - Registered: 28-2-2016
- Posts: 3
Hermes Baby - How do I attach the drawband to the mainspring drum?
Greetings fellow typewriter enthusiasts,
I'd like to know if you could help with a certain issue, which I suppose you've already guessed from this topic's name.
I own an orange Hermes Baby, made in Brazil, that I got from my father a pair months ago.
The first days I manipulated this machine everything seemed to go pretty well. Now, I'm not an expert nor have I studied enough about this cautivating hobby to master the use of this devices, but those first days it felt like there was nothing wrong going on.
Then the carriage started to jam at a certain point as I was typying, and the space bar couldn't get to move it to the direction it's supposed to. With clumsy curiosity I checked what I could and investigated about this issue on the internet. The conclusion: the drawband wasn't right.
The mainspring drum drawband's end seemed to have unattached itself.
I got myself some fishing line to replace it, but when I put my attention on the mainspring drum I was astonished. I couldn't figure out HOW to attach my new drawband onto it. I didn't find any space between the drum and the spring (the keyhole shaped hole on the image below)
So, my question to you is, how do I do it? I'm perplexed and afraid to force anything damaging my typewriter in the process.
I think this is a very very very basic knowledge on typewriter repair/restoration, but it does beat me.
I'd thank your very much if you could lend me a hand on this little issue of mine,
and I'm looking forward to your answers.
(English isn't my native language, so please excuse me if my grammar is too annoying)
- malole
- Inactive Account
Offline
- From: East Anglia, UK
- Registered: 02-6-2014
- Posts: 330
Re: Hermes Baby - How do I attach the drawband to the mainspring drum?
Are you winding the mainspring drum first?
Turn it with your hand a couple of turns anti-clockwise. The spring inside should start to tighten up and give you a little bit of space in that hole. Keep the drum wound up as you fit the knotted end of the drawstring. It might take you a couple of tries. If there is still no space in the hole, or only a tiny space, but the spring definitely has tension, you'll need to poke the knotted end in with something like a knitting needle.
(If you wind the drum and the spring can't keep tension then that's going to require a bigger fix/replacement, but hopefully this will be straightforward for you.)
Mind your fingers and good luck.
- skywatcher
- Moderator
Offline
- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
- Posts: 712
Re: Hermes Baby - How do I attach the drawband to the mainspring drum?
Hi Gonpejota
That's a cute little later model Hermes travel typewriter and I like a Spanish? keyboard. Adding to Malole's answer, here's what I do in a situation like this. If you have some new line, move the carriage all the way to the right and attach the line to the carriage. A length of wire with a hook bent into the end is a useful tool for getting the line under the carriage. Pull the line straight to the left side of the typewriter body as your length guide and cut the line. Next, you'll need a decent stopper knot in the end of the line, I like the double overhand knot for this purpose.
Now, give the main spring drum 5 full turns to wind up the spring (as Malole says, watch your fingers!) with the keyhole slot at the top. You should find the spring has pulled away from the outside of the drum giving you enough room to insert the knotted end of the line. Once installed, pull the line tight, release the drum and let the spring take the line onto the drum. This should get you going, you may need to add or remove one turn of tension once you get a feel of how the carriage is operating.
One thing to be aware of with these little flat travel typewriters is, the draw cord has a tendency to skip off the drum if the unit is handled roughly or held on its back while moving the carriage from right to left. All the best,
Sky
We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
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